The next generation atmospheric diving suit

The Atmospheric Diving Suit (ADS) has a longstanding history of use to aid in subsea construction, salvage, repair, platform inspection, oil and gas operations, and scientific purposes such as examining shipwrecks. The emergence of Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) technology, and other unmanned underwater vehicles, have begun to supplement the ADS in certain applications. However, due to the complex nature of subsea tasks, the tethered ADS still stands as a strong contender in the realm of manned and unmanned submersibles, especially when weighted against its cost and dexterity. The Next Generation ADS not only offers an alternative to traditional diving or ROV use, but bridges the gap between them. While there are clear advantages of using an ADS, such as mitigating risks associated with decompression, there are also drawbacks, including the risk of having a diver at the work site. While some risks can be mitigated with modern technology, there are still challenges that lie ahead for ADS design. The use of state-of-the-art equipment, advances in subsea technologies, and a summary of the successful missions are presented, to provide a comparison to past technologies and current ADS improvements and application advantages.